The present invention relates to a pouch for supporting a free end of a catheter on a patient from which the catheter extends, and more specifically to a releasably securable pouch capable of holding the free end of a catheter in a concealed location on a desired part of the clothing worn by the patient.
As a result of various medical procedures, it is necessary to implant a catheter in the body of a patient in order to drain bodily fluids from the patient or to facilitate the connection of the part of the body to which the catheter is connected to a machine, such as a dialysis machine. As a result, after these procedures have been completed, the implanted catheters have a free end that extends outwardly through the skin of the patient for these purposes.
The free end of the catheter extending outwardly from the patient""s body often causes problems for the patient when attempting to carry out normal daily activities. For example, the free end of the catheter can catch or snag on object that the patient walks by or on articles of clothing the patient is wearing. It is imperative that the catheter be prevented from catching on any objects or articles of clothing the patient may wear to ensure that the incision through which the catheter extends into the body is not ruptured or enlarged by the catheter pulling on an edge of the incision. Furthermore, constant rubbing or movement of the catheter within the incision irritates the skin around the incision, causing significant discomfort to the patient.
In the prior art, a number of different types of supports have been developed to receive and secure the exposed free end of a catheter extending from the body of a patient. In many cases, these supports take the form of bags having elongate straps which are releasably positionable about the head, shoulders and/or waist of the patient such that the bag can be supported on the body of the patient in a manner similar to that used for supporting a purse, backpack or belt. While these devices are effective in maintaining the position of the catheter with respect to the patient to avoid discomfort and irritation caused by movement of the catheter, the overall structure forming the support is bulky and makes it difficult for the user to readily conceal the existence of the catheter.
Other types of prior art catheter supports take the form of pocket-like dressings which are adhereable directly to the skin of the patient. While better able to conceal the presence of the catheter, these types of supports cannot be moved to different locations on the patient after the initial application to the patient. Therefore, the catheter cannot be moved in order to accommodate for the particular article of clothing worn by the patient in order to effectively conceal the catheter.
Therefore, it is desirable to develop a catheter support pouch which can reliably, releasably and comfortably hold the catheter in a stationary position on the patient while the patient is ambulatory to avoid irritation of or damage to the incision, but that also is positionable in a non-obvious location on a patient to effectively conceal the presence of the catheter.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a catheter support pouch that is easily opened and closed in order to selectively insert and remove an exposed, free end of a catheter from the pouch.
It is another object of the invention to provide a catheter support pouch that can be easily and releasably attached to an article of clothing worn by the patient using a suitable securing means.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a catheter support pouch which can be easily concealed beneath the clothing worn by the patient to effectively conceal the presence of the catheter.
It is still a further object of the invention to provide a catheter support pouch that is formed of hypoallergenic and inexpensive materials such that the pouch is inexpensive to manufacture and can be discarded after use.
The present invention is a catheter support pouch capable of releasably securing an exposed, free end of a catheter extending out of a patient""s body on any desired portion of clothing worn by the patient. The pouch is formed of a pair of panels of fabric material which are connected to one another to form a pouch having an open interior. The pouch includes a releasable closure at one end that allows the pouch to be selectively opened and closed in order to receive and retain the free end of the catheter. The pouch also includes a releasable securing means attached to the pouch that enables the pouch to be secured to any article of clothing worn by the patient such that the pouch, and the presence of the catheter, are effectively concealed.